Water
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) |appearances = • • • • • • • |related = Rain, Snow, Mist, Lava, Blood Curse, Abyss, Drowned Abbey, Great Southern Lake, Great Southern Sea, Lake of Lost Souls, Lake of Serenity, Lake of Tears, Lake of the Dead, Nachtholm Cove, Water Reaver, Water Glyph}} Water is a natural liquid that is a constant feature of the environment in Nosgoth. Water is seen as "life-giving" Umah: "While we are superior to humans in many ways, we also have certain weaknesses that they do not possess. Though it is life-giving to humans, water is deadly to vampires. Its touch burns our skin, immersion in water can kill us. Avoid it at all costs." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. and beneficial if not necessary to Humans and presumably most other life in Nosgoth, except for Vampires, to whom it was deadly. As such, Water has been a hazard to Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance; but it is a weakness which Wraith Raziel had largely overcome when he learnt the ability to swim in Soul Reaver. Role Water is a constant feature of the Nosgothic landscape, presumably just as vital to life and geology as in the real world, it is seen throughout the series, both on and beneath the surface of Nosgoth, generally collected in large bodies of water as 'Lakes' and 'Seas' (any 'Rivers' are as yet unnamed). Primarily in the series, Water has been significant for its ability to cause injury and death to vampires. The effects of being exposed to water are described as being burned as by acid or fire and immersion in water is considered fatal. Thus for Vampires, Water was a potent natural danger to be avoided and this vulnerability was often exploited by enemies of the vampires. In this capacity, Water was frequently featured within the games as a hazard, primarily to Vampire Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance. In Blood Omen, contact with water would cause damage, depleting Kain's Blood Vial and when Kain emerged from his Mausoleum after being resurrected as Vampire, the damage caused by rainfall was one of his first experiences of his changed existence and the damage caused by water. Through his journey, Kain would also be harmed by snowfall and crossing 'bodies of water' and the swamp. Kain was however able to use several methods to avoid injury; as the damage caused by rain and snowfall was negated by powers obtained at Blood Fountains (with a similar 'swamp-immunity' Blood Fountain planned but cut from the final game). For larger bodies of water, these enhancements were not powerful enough and it was only through Kain's shapeshifting abilities that Kain was able to directly cross water, with Kain's Wolf Form allowing small streams to be jumped and Bat Form allowing Kain to cross water at long-range whilst in flight. The most useful method of crossing water however was Mist Form which effectively allowed Kain to float as a vapor above the surface of the water to avoid injury. The implications of Kain's water weaknesses continued on through the rest of the Blood Omen arc in Blood Omen 2 and Defiance. However, with Mist no longer able to cross water, Kain was forced to use more mundane methods, such as ordinary jumping (occsasionally combined with Floating) and the Jump and Superhuman Leap abilities to avoid water damage. When it returned in Defiance, Bat Form once again allowed water to be crossed at long-range in flight and Kain would actively use it to escape damage if he fell into water. Water would also be an important environmental feature of the Soul Reaver arc and it was vital in the backstory to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver as Kain's water vulnerability was passed on to the Vampires in his empire, including Kain's first-born lieutenant Raziel. Kain would take advantage of this weakness, using a large whirlpool The Abyss (formally the Lake of the Dead ) as his execution ground for traitors and weaklings. When Raziel evolved before his master, Kain ordered Raziel be cast into the Abyss. Raziel's torment in the Abyss lasted for centuries until the'' Soul Reaver era, when he was spared total dissolution and resurrected by the Elder God as a Soul-devouring Wraith. Beginning his journey in the (apparently underwater and in the Spectral Realm) Underworld, Raziel soon discovered that whilst he no longer suffered from many of his old vampiric weaknesses, he was still vulnerable to water immersion in the Material Realm, which would dissolve his manifestation sending him back to the Spectral Realm, where water was as "thin as air". When Raziel traveled to his brother Rahab's territory in the Drowned Abbey, he discovered that the Rahabim Vampires, usually damaged by even the fragile sunlight in the wasteland Nosgoth had managed to overcome traditional Vampires weaknesses to water and had retreated from the surface to the dark corners of the Drowned Abbey, becoming aquatic creatrues. Notes *Water is frequently linked to life and vitality throughout the course of the series. Umah comments on this link to humans, but it is with comparisons between era that most show this to be the case with the general environment; with several ''Blood Omen era waterways drasitcally altered by Nosgoth's 'wasteland' future in the Soul Reaver era - the waterfall and waterways around Nupraptor's Retreat have dried up, the Lake of the Dead eroded and expanded to become the massive whirpool the Abyss and several areas such as the Drowned Abbey heavily flooded. Later, when Raziel arrives in the Pre-Blood Omen era, it is the waters and soft waterfalls of the Southern Lake that are used to illustrate "abundant life and vitality" in this era and a 'cataclysmic storm' used to illustrate the beginings of Nosgoth's downfall in the Demon infested Post-Blood Omen era. The Ancient Vampires did not directly associate Water with 'life' per se, instead (and rather appropriately given their religious beliefs and vulnerabilities) it was associated with the pillars of states and death. *The origins of the water weakness of Nosgoth's vampires is unclear. It is not explicitly mentioned among the symptoms of the Blood Curse , but as it was passed on to later vampire generations along with the other effects of the Blood Curse, it may be considered likely to be a part of the curse. Given waters supposed relationship to vitality and life in Nosgoth, it seems unlikely that the Ancient Vampires would originally have been vulnerable to such an abundant resource. He only known Vampires to have overcome the traditional weakness to water are the Rahabim vampires of the Soul Reaver era, who evolved as aquatic creatures in the waters of the Drowned Abbey, apparently at the cost of increased vulnerability to sunlight. *Water is fequently seen used as defence against vampires in architecture, with many stronghold locations such as the Human Citadel, Sarafan Stronghold and Hylden City using deep moats or otherwise naturally protected by water. The Hylden City itself seems to be surrounded with water (likely the Great Southern Sea) that has flooded many of the rooms; within the city, water is also used in special water forcefields (that function much like Ward Gates) and there appears to be some connection between Glyph magic and water. *Water is also seen used as a weapon by the Water Baloon wielding Vampire Hunters of Moebius's Mercenary Army and is suspected to be a part of the projectiles fired by the aquatic Rahabim. * See Also *Bodies of Water References Category:Terms Category:Soul Reaver Gameplay Terms Category:Soul Reaver Environment Category:Blood Omen Gameplay Terms Category:Blood Omen Environment Category:Blood Omen 2 Gameplay Terms Category:Blood Omen 2 Environment Category:Defiance Gameplay Terms Category:Defiance Environment Category:Soul Reaver 2 Gameplay Terms Category:Soul Reaver 2 Environment Category:General Terms